Alien Courage (Rise of the Empress) (58 page)

A small siren sounded and the Black Priest looked up.
“Ah, the Squadron returns with our guests. Go and make them welcome. Bring me
any Volen smugglers first and
mind scan
the
administrative personnel.

“Yes My Lord,” his Priest said getting up and hurrying
out of the cabin and down towards the transport dock. The Black Priest made his
way to the Bridge and eagerly anticipated the interrogation.

“Squadron Commander to Ship One,” sounded over the
communication’s speaker.

“Yes Commander, what is it?” the Black Priest replied
personally.

“Mission accomplished but I have to report a formal
protest was lodged with Confederate Command and The Imperial Court for our
action in securing the base, detaining and then abducting the requested
personnel.”

“Very well Commander, is that all?”

“I require rest for my pilots for one time frame. The
second supply vessel is on standby for this routine action,” the Squadron
Commander said in a tone of request rather than insistence for regulations.

“Is that necessary at this time Commander?” the Black
Priest replied annoyed.

“Yes.”

The Black Priest was about to deny the request but had
a second thought, rest and recuperation, interesting concept he thought and the
idea of that required further consideration he noted. “Very well Commander but
remain on standby.”

“Yes Sir, there will always two ships in escort at all
times. Starfighter Zero One out.”

The Black Priest was pleased and made a drink. As soon
as I deal with these people from the moon base I must look into why and when combat
personnel require rest, androids would seem a much better proposition, he
thought.

“My Lord, we have two Volen smugglers, they required a
truth reminder to admit they were smugglers. There were three but one was
killed by blaster fire on the moon base. It was their vessel that was stolen.”
The first of two Black Priests reported after coming through the sliding door.

“Very good send in the Volen of the most senior rank
and take the other for a complete mind
scan
. If you
locate any information on the whereabouts of their ship, inform me immediately.

“Yes My Lord,” he said and they disappeared through
the sliding door. It immediately opened again with only one Priest and a very
nervous Volen Commander. The Volen’s large dark moist eyes reflected the
flashing illuminators of the instruments on the Bridge and his small nostrils
flared as all Volens do when they are excited or scared. He was not wearing the
customary Volen cap, vest of rank, uniform or loin cloth but was in his native
condition of no clothes. The tough insulating qualities of the grey Volen skin
was adequate for survival but was socially despised by most Confederates as
their genitalia was not a pleasant sight.

“Are a smuggler?” the Black Priest asked as his first
question. The Volen was hesitant but recalled the treatment he received when he
denied he was answering the same question earlier in the transport dock.

“I will inform you of this only once. Cooperation
gives you a chance of being released with your sensors and memory intact.
Failure to answer my questions or lie to me will see you requesting death as
the most comfortable option for you. Now are you a smuggler?” The Black Priest
asked casually.

“Yes.”

“Good, wasn’t so difficult was it. Now, did you raid
Zion?”

“Yes,” he said softly with wide open flaring nostrils.

“How did you gain access to the land base?”

“We had our own magnetic beacon.” The Volen answered
more easily.

“And the Confederate satellite just sat there and let
you do this?” The Black Priest said enjoying seeing the Volen gasp and
staggered back a little. Altering in any way the functioning of a Confederate
satellite was an instant death sentence. “Well?”

“I… I mean we cloaked it,” he said very softly.

“You have such technology; interesting. What did you
steal from the base?”

“We didn’t have long but we acquired androids, some
were operational but there were two who were inoperative due to some sort of
fight.”

“Fight?” the Black Priest interjected with great
interest.

“Yes, they had been shot with some sort of pellet gun.
There was also a body of one of the local inhabitants and we took possession of
a wounded person in a suspended animation cylinder.”

“Who was it?”

“I didn’t look in the cylinder but there was blood on
the floor around it and on the top cover,” the Volen answered
squirming
his hands together.

“What else did you steal?”

“Communications and electronics
equipment.
Tools,
medical supplies, animal eyes and skins, old weapons and many small items from a
transport ship and a disabled Starfighter.”

“The identification numbers of the Starfighter?”

“I don’t recall the number but it was an Irrimus ship
same as the transport.”

“I see,” the Black Priest said losing interest as it
was an Irrimus ship. “Who stole your ship?”

“Two Confederate Officers.”

“Their unit insignia?”

“I didn’t see any. They were removed, I remember
thinking it was strange the big one didn’t have any when he said it was illegal
to take Irrimus assets without Trigealian consent.”

“Was it that Officer,” the Black Priest said pointing
to a monitor and the image of the Captain of the Palace Guard flashed onto it.

“Yes, that’s him.”

The Black Priest was pleased, “what did he want
concerning Zion?”

“I don’t know, he never said anything else. A fight
broke out.”

“Why did he take your ship?”

“We had them cornered. They didn’t have a choice I
suppose.”

“My report said he blew up his own Starfighter. Do you
know why?”

“No… maybe he needed to get rid of it. I don’t know.
Can I go now, I don’t know anything else,” the Volen said shifting uneasily on
his feet.

“Oh, but you know many things. Do you have a method of
tracking your lost ship?”

“Yes, yes I do!” the Volen said brightening up. He
instinctively knew he had something to negotiate with but lost his excitement
when he realized who he had to barter with and became nervous again.

“Well, how do you track it,” the Black Priest said
starting to tire of the life form he was addressing.

“It has a constant secret frequency on a sub radiation
level. It cannot be detected by sound or any communications frequency device
but only by a scan in the visual range of intensified gamma. A trail of light
green gamma particles shows up if you set your scanners to this frequency,” the
Volen said indicating he needed a hand held console adjuster. The navigator
handed him one. “There is it,” he said trying to hand the device to the Black
Priest but the navigator took it off him and handed it to the Captain of the
ship.

“I have a green trail My Lord,” the Captain reported.

“Very good Captain.”
The Black Priest said and pointed to the Volen, take
him below and secure him. We may need him later.”

“I helped you, I have just helped you,” the Volen
pleaded as he was dragged from the Bridge.

“Follow the trail slowly Captain. Work out its
characteristics and patterns. I do not want to alert them of our presence or
that they are being tracked,” the Black Priest said now pleased. “I will be in
my cabin, send me the data from the other moon base personnel when it is
available plus my assistants.”

“Yes My Lord,” the Captain replied.

The Black Priest sat at his desk with the many
monitors and devices he had accumulated from the Trigeals during his earlier
training as a White Priest. He now felt his mission was running smoothly and
every action he took would be easily understood by the report he would submit
to the Imperial Court. He just needed to rescue the Emperor and his position of
power in the Imperial Court was assured. He leaned back in his seat and waited
for the information from his Priests to be delivered.

One of his Priests entered and presented a data disc.
“The
mind scan
data, My Lord. We are still processing
the other Volen. His mind is weak and I didn’t want to kill him like the last
one.”

“It is off little consequence. His value is in cross
referencing only,
hurry
the process,” the Black Priest
ordered.

“Yes My Lord,” said the Priest and relayed the order
quickly on his communicator.

The Black Priest studied the data from the moon base
personnel. “There is nothing here I haven’t already worked out already from our
Volen Commander. He is to remain on this ship until we’ve secured his vessel,
and then vaporize him and his crew as criminals. Give the rest of the base
personnel an electronic amnesia pulse to their brains that will confuse them,
then send them back.”

“Yes My Lord,” he said and left to carry out his
orders.

The Black Priest finished his study of the disc. Soon
I will have the Captain and the Emperor, he thought. His found it interesting
that the Captain would chose an Irrimus base to go to, he must have known it would
be under Confederate scrutiny since the Intervention of Irrimus, yet he risks
everything and even gets into a fire fight to recover… what?”

The Black Priest rushes out of his cabin and straight
to the Communication’s Officer. “Contact Space Command immediately and enquire
about the status of the Emperor’s private space ship?”

“That ship is called ‘Traveller’ Sir and is a smaller
style but highly modified Galaxy Cruiser,” the Captain cut in.

“A prize worth risking your life for
Captain?”
The Black Priest asked.

“Indeed My Lord. She’s one of a kind. Actually she
would suit you perfectly my Black Priest,” the Captain said feeling a rush of
anticipation at the thought he might command such a ship.

“The Traveller is missing My Lord. The Imperial Fleet
is searching for it. It appears to have left Ennack just before the Emperor
took ill.
Destination unknown.”
The Communication’s
Officer reported.

“Our Captain of the Guard has just become very
valuable. He is not to be harmed in any way until we have the Emperor’s ship in
my possession,” the Black Priest ordered his Bridge crew. I wonder who has the
Emperor’s
ship?
He thought.

The Black Priest went to his cabin. One of his Priests
was there entering data into a computer. He looked up as the Black Priest
entered the cabin. “Our mission will soon be over My Lord?”

“Possibly,” the Black Priest said and went over to the
Pilot Transfer Monitor for T334 pilots. “Lord Ambrae knew a lot of things and
Irrimus has had a large part to play in our current circumstances,” he said and
turned the monitor on. Data flashed across the screen and a list of pilots
stabilized on the right side. He highlighted Johe of Irrimus and entered a
status enquiry.

“Well, that’s interesting,” the Black Priest said.

“My Lord?”

“Johe of Irrimus is no longer on Earth, and he’s not
in his T334 as he’s been discharged from ever operating one again. And his
organic body is missing.”